The holidays can be incredibly stressful for many people. It’s easy to put pressure on yourself to decorate a beautiful home, bake delicious desserts, send frame-worthy holiday cards and pick out the perfect gifts for your family and friends.
Believe it or not, the holidays don’t have to be the most stressful time of the year. We’ve scoured the web for some great tips on minimizing anxiety this holiday season:
- Take care of yourself. Too often during the holiday season, you overeat, give up time for exercising and stay up way too late. Be sure to make time for your normal routines as much as possible. “We need to put on our own oxygen mask on first before we can put it on others for us all to survive,” reminds author Marilyn Tam in this article.
- Rethink gift-giving (or reduce it). If buying gifts is a big source of stress for you or even a financial burden, consider cutting back on the number of things you buy this season, sticking to homemade items or even purchasing just one gift for a family member instead of several. Get more tips in this article.
- Focus on having fun. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to have the perfect holiday season, or you’ll likely be disappointed. Instead, take time to have some fun. Build a snowman with your kids, crank your favorite holiday music or glue mothballs to an ancient cardigan for an ugly sweater party. See more ideas for reducing stress in this article.
- Read photography tips before grabbing the camera. Planning to snap pictures of your family caroling or even just a candid shot of friends outside in the snow? Look up camera settings, tricks for offsetting glare and even tips on colors to wear (and avoid) before taking the photo. You’ll be less stressed because you’re better prepared — and you won’t have the blurry pictures to add to the stress of sending out holiday cards. This article offers several easy photography tips for taking holiday photos.
- Make a plan. Last-minute events and gifts or treats you need to buy will always pop up, but making a plan — and sticking to it as much as possible—will ease your stress load. Set aside time to shop, bake and even do everyday things, like fold the laundry, so nothing falls through the cracks. Find more tips in this article.
Enjoy a safe and stress-free holiday season this year, and share your tips for relieving stress with us in the comments!
